Chapter Text
Puella Magi N.M - Beginnings and Eternal
In Konoha Village, a jinchuuriki named Naruto Uzumaki meets a new transfer student, Sasuke Uchiha, who coldly warns him to remain as he is lest he risk losing everything. In his dream that night, Naruto witnesses Sasuke fighting with a powerful and deranged shinobi with dark red eyes that spiraled, and armoured purple giants made of chakra. Later that day, Naruto and his teammate, Sakura Haruno are shopping when they find themselves protecting a strange mini plant-like creature named Zetsu from Sasuke. They are caught in a mystical seal barrier and approached by strange shinobi, but are rescued by Sai. Naruto and Sakura learn Sai is a Root Member who fights Shinobi Tainted by Hate, who spread curses and despair. Zetsu offers the two ninja the opportunity to also become Root Members: in return for forging a contract and having a wish granted with the power of the celestial beings of the Otsutsuki Clan, they are given an intricately etched Forehead protector and are tasked with hunting down Shinobi Tainted by Hate. Killing those Tainted leaves behind Grief Scrolls, which can be used to replenish and purify their Chakra.
“Naruto heard a soft knock on his window. Rubbing his eyes, he deftly pushed the window open before yawning. ‘If you love the life you have now, you will not say yes to Zetsu.’ The blonde withheld another yawn, blinking away sleepy tears as he looked up at who, exactly, was at his window so late at night. It was a boy. Who looked to be within his own age range with ink black hair with long side-swept bangs covering one of his eyes and pale skin.”
Sasuke, a Root Member himself with the ability to seemingly appear out of nowhere, is strongly against Naruto making a contract, but Naruto, wanting to help others, almost does so after being inspired by Sai. However, Naruto reconsiders after witnessing Sai's brutal death while fighting a Shinobi Tainted by Hate named Orochimaru. Sakura becomes a Root Member to heal the debilitating injury afflicting Ino Yamanaka, her childhood friend. Sakura soon comes into conflict with another Root Member named Kiba Inuzuka, whom Sasuke recruits to deal with a powerful Uchiha tainted by hate named Indra, who will appear and devastate Konoha in two weeks.
“‘Yeah sure,’ Said Kiba as he tossed a piece of jerky up into the air for Akamaru to catch, ‘With Sai gone, I doubt we’re going to survive a fight with someone like Indra, but… Might as well go out with a bang, huh?’”
When Naruto learns that Sakura and Kiba are fighting on a bridge, he intervenes by throwing Sakura's etched Forehead protector into the water which carries it away and causes Sakura to immediately fall dead. This reveals the horrifying truth: the etched Forehead protectors used by Root Members are their actual souls, extracted from their bodies by Zetsu after forging the contract. Zetsu describes the process as turning their bodies into mere ‘Tools’ controlled by their etched Forehead protector, which are usually kept close to them at all times, and allows their bodies to better endure the hardship of battle. The gifted etched headband is attached to the seal that appears on every Root Member and the destruction of the Forehead protector also means permanent death for a Root Member, where the seal simply ‘releases’ the Root Member. and they must locate Grief Scrolls from defeated Tainted Shinobi or risk running out of Chakra and being unable to maintain their bodies. When her etched Forehead protector is recovered, Sakura revives and is horrified. Zetsu expresses flat confusion at their reactions, reasoning that the contract is fair and the process is logically sound.
“Sakura showed Naruto the etched fabric headband. It looked like something out of an art book with most of its etchings on the metal centerpiece swirling with vines and tiny flowers. In the middle of the metal plate held an intricate carving, it looked like gold filigree, that surrounded a rhombus emerald which matched the green tattoo now imprinted on Sakura’s forehead.”
Kiba later tries to help Sakura cope by telling her of her own experience, in which his own wish inadvertently destroyed his clan. However, Sakura falls deeper into despair after learning that her classmate and friend, Ino Yamanaka, was planning to confess to Sai, but couldn’t before he died. After Zetsu tells Naruto that he has more Chakra potential than anyone it has ever seen, Naruto nearly forges a contract to restore Sakura to normal, but is stopped seconds before when Sasuke manages to kill Zetsu. The close call causes Sasuke to break down, tearfully begging Naruto not to be so foolishly selfless, before Naruto runs off to find Sakura. As Naruto leaves, another Zetsu appears and Sasuke calls it by it truly is: Fragments of the Chakra Goddess’ Will. Elsewhere, Kiba finds Sakura, now fully sunken in despair. Sakura's gem on her Forehead protector completely darkens and explodes into a Grief Scroll. As darkness flows out of the Grief Scroll, Zetsu muses how a ‘Root Member’ is what they call the juvenile form of a Shinobi tainted by Hate. Trained to fight without emotion, before succumbing to those very emotions embedded deep within every human.
“Naruto thought for a moment, opening his mouth to answer, ‘I wish-’ But before he could finish, he was interrupted by the sound of crows. A flash, then crackling. The spot where Zetsu had been perched was charred. In front of Naruto stood Sasuke, the blonde looked up at Sasuke. But when their eyes met, the blonde startled, seeing Sasuke shaking, with tears glistening in his eyes. Their eyes connected in silence. Then, Sasuke crumpled onto his knees, eyes never straying from Naruto’s. ‘Please,’ Sasuke begged, ‘Don’t make a contract with him, please.’”
Sasuke saves Kiba and Sakura's lifeless body from the newly emerged Hate Tainted Shinobi, revealing that the Ninja is Sakura herself: Root Members whose emotions and chakra have become fully tainted and succumb to despair and hate become converted into the Tainted, and their Forehead protector becoming Grief Scrolls. Zetsu explains that he is also part of the Otsutsuki clan, an emotionless alien species, specifically it being an aspect of "Kaguya’s Will" who have long used young ninja in this manner because the transformation from innocent ninja to consumed by despair and hate produces massive amounts of Chakra, which they collect to try and release/revive Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Goddess of Chakra imprisoned on the Moon. Kiba, spurred on by Zetsu and hoping for a chance to restore Sakura, takes Naruto with him to try and reach Sakura. The attempt ultimately fails, with Kiba sacrificing himself to end Sakura's suffering. Zetsu, having known that reversing the process was impossible, taunts Sasuke, saying that without Sakura and Kiba he has no chance of stopping Indra without Naruto also becoming a Root Member, something Zetsu wishes to happen in order to harness Naruto's mysteriously enormous Chakra potential.
“‘I thought I could save lives’ Sakura’s hand uncovered the bottom of her Forehead protector, it’s emerald gem covered in. ‘Sakura, your headband-’ Kiba tensed, standing up from the seat. ‘I was a fool,’ Sakura murmured before she gave a breathless scoff of a laugh. She looked up through her pink bangs, giving Kiba one last smile, empty. ‘Such a fool.’”
Sasuke’s covered eye is the Rinnegan, capable of time manipulation, and he is from another timeline. Initially a recluse student of the ninja academy who was rescued from his own hatred and mourning of his older brother Itachi by Naruto who became Root member, and witnessing his tragic and painful demise, Sasuke forged a contract with Zetsu with the intention of redoing the past to prevent Naruto from becoming a Root member and save him from his fate. He has relived the one-month period leading up to the progenitor of the Uchiha clan’s bloodline, Indra, numerous times in the hopes of saving Naruto, with each attempt ending in failure. With this new information, Zetsu deduces that it is Sasuke's actions that have caused Naruto to possess the massive Chakra potential from multiple reset timelines to become the greatest Shinobi of all and subsequently Naruto’s downfall/drowning in despair and hatred will create power that dwarfs Indra’s.
“Sasuke’s eyes snapped open at the feeling of being partially cleansed. He lolled his head to look at Naruto. Who gave the Uchiha a helpless smile, ‘Guess I… had one last… Grief Scroll…’”
Determined to save Naruto, Sasuke faces the anciently powerful Indra, alone, but is ultimately defeated and pushed to the brink of despair, reasoning that resetting time any further will only make Naruto's fate worse. Naruto arrives and comforts Sasuke, becoming not a Root member with the wish to have the ability to save all Shinobi across all time from their despair before they can become Shinobi tainted and consumed by Hatred- but becoming one with the Kurama, the Nine-tailed Bijuu he is the Jinchuuriki of and calling all the other bijuu to come to him. The paradoxical nature of his wish causes him to transcend into a Celestial, Otsutsuki form, and establishes a new "Law of Jinchuuriki" in which shinobi are purified and are cradled in the arms of the Shinigami instead of becoming Soulless and empty shinobi consumed by Hatred and despair. The result of the wish causes Naruto's human existence to become erased from reality, with only Sasuke remembering him. Naruto assures Sasuke that becoming the Ten-tailed Jinchuuriki is for the best and thanks him, now knowing the full extent of their friendship across numerous timelines. Sasuke awakens to find himself in a reality where Sai and Kiba are still alive, as the three of them now hunt new monsters called "Nightmares", and no one else remembers Naruto. Sasuke describes the previous reality to Zetsu and vows to continue protecting the world Naruto cherished.
“‘It’s hard without you, The world feels cursed and empty now,” Sasuke stared at the tree near the edge of the Uchiha cemetery for a moment before he pulled off his Konoha headband, shaking his head. He had already left Dango as an offering at Itachi’s shrine, this was his last stop, talking to a blonde boy who did not exist anywhere but inside his memories, ‘But even still, I will keep on protecting this world you loved with all your heart.’”